Also called closeout auction · expired domains closeout
Closeout, explained
At GoDaddy, an expired name first runs through a 10-day expired auction. If nobody bids, it enters the Expired Domains Closeout for five days, a reverse auction in which the price drops each day and the first buyer takes the name for the closeout price plus a renewal or transfer fee. Until someone buys it, the previous owner can still renew. Names that go unsold are returned to the registry and head toward deletion.
Closeouts are a cheap source of names, but the low price is a signal: the name already sat in front of active bidders and drew no interest. Most closeout names are not worth renewing, so buy only what you would gladly renew at full price, and check each one's history, trademarks and renewal cost first. Because a closeout name changes hands before deletion, it keeps its original creation date. Software filters, including AI scoring, help scan thousands of names a day; they cannot tell you whether a buyer exists.
Example. Picking up an expired two-word .com on the fourth day of its closeout, after the price has dropped close to its floor, is buying a closeout.
Go deeper Expired Domains and Drop Catching: How the Domain Lifecycle Works
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Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.
